Freedom from or freedom for?
Come August, and the Independence Day celebrations are on in India. What we celebrate is the day we earned the socio-political freedom but it is high time we rise above this and look for the higher realms of freedom.
Man has a deep longing for freedom because it is not something to be achieved, it is everybody’s intrinsic nature. But just longing is not enough, one has to prepare oneself to take the tremendous responsibility that comes with freedom. Usually people want to be free of their miseries but once they are free what will they do with the new-found freedom? How do they handle it? They are not trained for this.
This is exactly what has happened to India. The whole focus of the freedom fighters was to become free from the British.
At that time the leaders could not envisage that once they are free, what will they do with this freedom? Will they be able to revive the crushed spirit of India and reconstruct the nation responding to the challenges of modern times? We did not realise that once the British were out and their job was done, a new team of visionaries, creative experts and practical people with scientific minds was needed to rebuild the nation. We failed miserably in this.
This is why Osho says that there are two kinds of freedom: “freedom from”, and “freedom for”.
Political freedom is a negative state — “freedom from,” but the human bondage is at several levels: intellectual, emotional, spiritual. Freedom or liberation has been the central point of the whole spiritual search of this country. But in modern India, the inner search is completely forgotten which is the main cause of moral decay.
Now it is not meditation but money that has a prime place on the laundry list. And if money is supreme, all that is done to acquire it seems to be religious.
Osho has a blueprint that can change the software of Indian mind and restore its past glory. Here are some points:
First, let meditation be the foundation of every person. It should be taught as one of the subjects in the schools and colleges.
Second, India is not yet ready for democracy, our democracy is reduced to mobocracy.
What India needs is a benevolent dictatorship. We have great ideas but the inertia of the people is so much that they have to be forced to implement these ideas.
Third: Politicians should not be given as much importance as they are getting today. Let them serve people, not exploit them.
Fourth: India’s dependence on family is a great obstruction to the individual growth. The real independence lies in becoming independent of the family structure.
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